It has now been almost fifty years since established Chicago guitarist Little Smokey Smothers began mentoring and befriending the young Elvin Bishop, who came to Chicago from Tulsa in 1960 looking for the blues.
Those years have brought at least life’s share of twists and turns for each. Smothers maintained a steady but generally low profile on the windy city blues scene while Bishop gained renown with the Butterfield Blues Band and then struck out on his own noteworthy foray through blues and southern rock and, like many of his Chicago blues cohorts, relocated to the Bay Area in the late ’60s. Superb musical jamming and down home eating courtesy of Smokey’s kitchen chops have marked Elvin and his band’s Chicago visits, and Elvin and Smokey have helped each other through hard times and tough losses. Smokey’s health has been in decline in recent years, and Elvin has seized the moment to compile (with generous assistance from a number of labels and individuals) Chicago Blues Buddies, a musical monument to his friendship and musical teamwork with Smokey while all involved can savor the highly enjoyable results.
Bishop first heard and met Smothers at the legendary Blue Flame on the south side (where Smothers also gave Paul Butterfield early band experience). Smokey took note of the guitar Elvin was carrying during that first encounter, and accepted Elvin’s request for tutelage. It was soon obvious that Smokey was an exacting teacher with some definite and effective methods. “He was serious about it, you know. Well, I was too, because I wanted to learn, but he would make me get that stuff right... He would teach me the rhythm part to the tune, and he didn’t care if it took two or three days, he was going to get it through my hard head. And when I finally got it, he’d call in all the neighbors and he’d play the lead and I’d play the rhythm part... Smokey’d get mad if I didn’t get it right. He wasn’t gonna let me slide. I’d learn it halfway, I’d want to go home, he’d say ‘Naw!’ He’d take me over and have them neck bones and beans goin’ on on the stove, he said ‘come here,’ he’d lift up that lid and say ‘smell this!’ and I’d say ‘oh, that smells good!’ And he’d say ‘when you get this part, you can have some.’”
Elvin eventually more than got it right, he turned it into something of his own. His style is more jagged and raw than Smokey’s, he features his slide work, and he doesn’t invoke the jazz flavoring that gives Smokey’s playing a liquid smoothness at times, but Smokey gave him encouragement, knowledge and a level of accomplishment to which he could aspire, not to mention a strong shot of wry humor they share in their presentation. The friendship remained undiminished even while Smothers lay low musically and raised his family, and Elvin instigated and participated in Smothers’ award winning debut CD Bossman! which appeared in 1993. The two marked its release with a set together at the 1993 Chicago Blues Festival which, as one major publication put it, “tore the roof off.” In January 2000, they recorded the Alligator CD That’s My Partner live in San Francisco. In 2006 they reprised their Chicago Blues Festival collaboration, and not long afterward they teamed up again for a video and audio recording at Ground Zero in Clarksdale, MS. The bond still endures. During a June, 2009 visit to Smokey, Elvin told him “man, I love your blues. I ain’t heard nobody beat you yet. I should be able to play better, as much as you tried to teach me,” to which Smokey replied rightly, “naw, man, you playin’ your ass off!’
Their comfort level together is evident on Chicago Blues Buddies. The first two tracks come from Smokey’s Bossman! CD, with the two reminiscing, clowning and slamming out some powerhouse guitar. Smokey is up front for their Chicago Blues Festival dust-up on May 30, 1993 (Elvin had opened with a few songs of his own), but makes sure Elvin gets his slice of the musical pie, while Elvin’s band drives the proceedings in high gear, probably mindful that messing up behind Elvin’s main man and their ace local band chef and host would be a capital offense. During a post-set backstage interview, the two old and good friends bask in the glow of nostalgia and another shared musical and personal highlight. Two excerpts from That’s My Partner show how well the two complement each other stylistically while sharing basic common ground and deep empathy, and Smokey’s personality shines through “Little Red Rooster.” A pair of songs from Ground Zero give the listener a rousing musical sendoff.
It’s straight from the heart when Smokey says of Elvin “he’s a helluva guitar player now. He really came through for me!” Now, as he has so many times over half a century, Elvin has come through once again for Smokey with Chicago Blues Buddies, a portrait of music and friendship of rare and lasting quality.
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